Green Talk

I always carry my camera these days since green is all around us. As we traveled through Pennsylvania my kids saw the turbines as we approached them on the highway. This is the first time I had a close encounter of the wind turbine kind.

Are these magnificent? I expected to see wind turbines spinning in a fast and furious manner, but these were spinning like a they were just day dreaming on a lazy summer day.

I guess wind turbines on the horizon will be like the new picket fences of yesterday beaconing us to a new prosperous tomorrow. Hopefully, more and more turbines will dot the horizon, and we can say goodbye to our petroleum oil dependency.

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I was toying with this post on how to write it and came up with 2 different senario both with a green intent. I am curious which version you like.

Version #1: Are you Chained to your Bathroom?

When you read the title of this artcle, you are muttering “ugh” in response to pictures of forever cleaning your bathroom?  Put those frustrating thoughts aside. This chain is a good thing and will forever silence (for a little while) that “there is no more toliet paper?” when you are doing the serious thing.

OR

Version #2: Biker Bathroom that Even your Mother would Love:

Perhaps when you are thinking of “Biker bathroom” does it conjure up images of chrome fixtures, skull and bones wallpaper, leather padded toilet seats, and chains around the sink? Well, close. Take a look at the picture above. I shot this picture at a restaurant in Chicago. This restaurant knows how to get their green on.

So, which version do you like?

In any event, check out what you can do with old chain link! Chrome never looked so good. It will definitely be a conversation ice breaker for visitors at your house. Be sure to add recycled toilet paper to the link. (Don’t know about recycled toilet paper, check my RTP article here.)

I am constantly writing about ways to use “stuff” that would ordinarily go in the trash. (Check out how to reuse torn screens and straws.) So, do you have a favorite reuse story to tell?

Oh, which version did you like?

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Periodically, I receive questions on my “Ask Green Talk” section or via my Contact Form. I respond to them privately via email. The other day I had an epiphany and said, “I should be putting these questions right on the front page for my readers to answer as well.” I have a bunch of great readers who provide me with wonderful insight Plus, even the Great Oz gets stumped too! (Yeah, hard to believe…)

So, here goes my first question that actually stumped the Great Oz. (I told you it happens.)

Angela writes:

“I saw a commercial for solar panels and wind turbines on TV. Are they legit? Has anyone tried out their products? http://www.power-save1200.com/solar.html”

I watched that same commercial on PowerSave’s website. The message I took away from the commercial is I could eliminate or reduce my electric bill for free. Even their brochure temps you with a slogan that reads, “What if you could reduce your electric bill at no out of pocket cost.” Who wouldn’t want to check out their website? Ah, the power of marketing where fact and fiction sometimes blur.

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See my 3 Rs dress show below!

This summer we are visiting colleges, and have seen about 9 colleges. If you have little ones, the years go by really fast. It seemed like yesterday when he was walking to now he is going to be off on his own. (A tear streaming down my face and my other children yelling hooray, he’s gone.)

This is my first child going off to college, so he gets to see every college his heart desires except Stanford because it is too far. Kind of like the first child has the most pictures and the last one has none because you can’t find your camera by then. So by the time we get to number 4, his oldest brother can take him. (Just kidding….maybe.)

It is amazing to go back and visit college and see how diverse the curriculum has become. Makes me wish I could be a college student again.

Our last road trip was to Washington DC to see Georgetown and George Washington University where I spotted lots of green (see my picture article.) This time we went to Chicago. I have been there a couple of times, but never in the summer.

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Life is full of dilemmas where you struggle to do the right thing. I am sure all of you have been in this situation where if you do one thing or the other, there is a consequence to your choice. Kind of like a no-win situation.

Here is mine at the moment. My son is being bar mitzvahed in a couple of weeks. I am trying to green this event as much as possible. In doing so, I had to look at my carbon footprint. My first hurdle was the invitations. I considered the amount of paper that would  be used to create a one of a kind invitation that would end up in the trash. Then there were the response, directions, and separate party cards. Just getting started. Then I thought about all the fuel used to truck those invitations across the country and then some to truck the responses back to me (which of course never make it back to me by the due date.)

Given these factors, I could not bring myself to do the paper route. I decided to create an invitation website that was fun and creative to keep me out of the dog house for not sending out formal invitations. I even became a celeb since people were remarking how cool they thought the website was. (See my article here about the website.)

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For the last month, one of my Swiss Chard plants looked like it was on steroids. It is almost three feet high and has a plume coming out its center like it is off to see the horse races. The rest of the chard looks big, but obviously not as ostentatious as the middle chard.

I think the Sorrel next to the plant is secretly supplying steroids to the Swiss Chard. It is a pretty bitter plant so it might be jealous of the beautiful Swiss Chard with its magnificent leaves and its happy go lucky demeanor that can withstand cold and hot weather. How else can I explain what is going on?

Did the rabbits who I constantly chased out of my garden put something in the soil to piss me off? Cotton tails my @ss. Is it is my luscious compost that I wish I could say I made myself is causing the amazing growth. (I am a compost flunkee and can’t get more than sludge out of my compost. It would require me to stop dumping and actually turn the pile…)

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Just like the lyrics of John Mayer’s song, “Waiting on the World to Change” I too am still waiting. In response to the possibility of increased heat temperatures and destruction of our planet, it seems that people and businesses are changing their thinking and way of life to prevent such a catastrophic occurrence for our future generations. But I question have we as a society really changed our behavior?

“With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don’t have the means
To rise above and beat it”

Perhaps this very question will be addressed by other Green Mom bloggers in a series of articles being written by a group of talented green moms on Global Warming, as part of the first Green Mom carnival set up by Lynn of Organic Mania (a marketing consultant and mom). Each article will have a unique perspective on this topic from women who are not just mothers, but who are powerful, strong, and passionate ranging in age, background, geographic locations, and number of children. I urge you to read all the different articles since I can assure you that they will be very interesting.

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Want to win a free eco-binder or cleaning products? See details below.

As the lazy days of August start, I am reminded that I have to get my children ready for school. This include shopping for clothes, school supplies, and doctor appointments.

Last year, I wanted to buy eco-friendly binders for them. I looked into both the recycled vinyl coated and cardboard binders. The vinyl coated ones were too expensive especially when you have to buy multiple notebooks for many children. The cardboard notebooks were only available via the Internet, so I was not able to see how sturdy they were. Plus, I had to pay shipping for a box full of binders. So, I ended up buying the standard heavy duty binders hoping they would last the whole year. Guess what? They did not and are clogging up a landfill as I write this article.